When a female combat pilot and Navy hero dies in an air-show plane crash, the NCIS team must investigate if it’s the fault of the pilot or the new jet that was just approved to deploy to bases globally.

Alessandra Stanley

Robert Lloyd

The plot of the pilot, which begins with the discovery of a severed leg in a load of shrimp, is clever enough and manages to fit a lot of locations into its 40-minute hour. That time is also filled with cornball dialogue, shameless sentimentality and B-movie displays of toughness.

Brian Lowry

NCIS: New Orleans bears a closer resemblance to “CSI: Miami” than anything else, simply in terms of trying to use a specific locale to differentiate a spinoff that otherwise doesn’t orbit far from the mother ship with a Big Easy vibe.

Rob Owen

Myles McNutt

Bakula is a strong anchor for a series like this one, and the supporting cast is likable and engaged.... However, based on the framework laid out by producers, NCIS: New Orleans is primarily concerned with continuing the franchise, at the expense of telling stories of the lived realities of its primary setting.

Verne Gay

Rick Porter

There's enough detail in the setting and characterization to keep it distinct from the mothership, but also more than enough of the template (down to the freeze-frame tic at the open and close of each act) to make it go down like a comforting plate of crawfish etouffee.